Family Reunion

Okay, so I'm finally getting around to posting something. Hopefully I'll catch you all up with everything in the next few posts. This attempt, as noted in the title, will be to update you on my family reunion.

The Thomas family reunion was scheduled for a campground in Idaho City (Idaho) this year. Jordan and I both wanted to attend, but since we're driving a Camry, have 4 dogs, and not enough room for 4 dogs, 2 adults and 4 dog kennels in our car (no, we're not going to show up without our dog kennels) we pretty much knew that there was no way that we were going to be able to drive up for the reunion. (We also found out that the campground does not allow dogs, and we didn't want the family to incur any additional penalties for us bringing them there.) So, Jordan stayed home with all the kids and I flew off to Idaho. I headed out of Oklahoma City and flew into Denver then on to Idaho.

Here's a couple pics just after my take-off in Oklahoma City.

Notice all the red? It's the dirt! Oklahoma dirt is mostly red!

Here's a couple I took when I was soaring above the clouds...
(literally above the clouds.....................I wasn't on drugs)

Denver has brown dirt...


Denver again...

I got in to Boise on Sunday the 10th. My little sister Jamie and her family came and picked me up. It was really cool to see them all since it's been just about 14 months since I'd seen them. My little sister and her husband were pretty much the same (not that many adults change THAT much in a year). Her little girl was a lot bigger, cuter and sweeter, so that was nice to get to see her. She is absolutely adorable. AND, she seemed really helpful with her little brother (who was not quite 2 weeks old when we moved out to Oklahoma).

Here's Jamie's baby boy Keegan with my oldest brother Robbie's youngest son Seth

(Hopefully that made sense to you....)

Here's Kali...she'd been running and playing with Keegan and was gracious enough to pause for a moment to say cheese and let me take her picture. -She totally hams it up for the camera. I love it!

Jamie trying to keep her sanity while chasing after 2 kids (waiting on Dad, Mom and I to arrive a couple hours after we said we would) and also being 6 months pregnant I might add. I think she looks pretty dang good! What a sweet little mommy my baby sister has become.

Cell phone pic of Jamie's husband Jeff...

(I told him to smile so I had a pic of him that came up when he called me.... This is what I got.... Not that Jeff ever calls, but still!)

Baby Keegan again


Applesauce faced Keegan


Keegan likes corn on the cob....

Anyhoo, they took me to Parma to my parent's house where I was able to see my younger brother Brandon, my older brother Lorne and his family (wife Amy and kids Bodhi and Taylor), my older brother Robbie and his kids Jake, Matison and Seth. My dad showed up later that night too (he's been working and living in Wyoming--he's an electrician for a company out of Utah and that's where they had a contract at, so that's where they sent my dad).

The newest look of my parent's house (front view)


My oldest brother Robbie


Robbie's youngest, Seth


Robbie's only daughter, Matison (aka Mattie)


My dad


My mom


Amy (at Red Robin)

The family reunion was Monday thru Thursday. Since dad had just gotten home, mom and dad did errands and stuff on Monday, and I pretty much just hung out around my parents and was happy to just do whatever. Tuesday we went up to the reunion and spent a couple hours, Wednesday we drove back up there and stayed the night since we were in charge of breakfast Thursday morning. Thursday morning dad got up and made breakfast before mom and I got up to do anything, so we were pretty much just there for moral support. -I didn't mind.

Here are a couple of pics I took on the way back to Boise after we left the campground in Idaho City.

Thursday night I stayed with my in-laws and had dinner with everyone there, which again, was nice to see everyone since Jordan's brother & his wife had a baby about a month before we moved down here and she was a whopping 6 pounds. She's gotten a lot bigger, cuter and sweeter (I think all the kids did) as well as Jordan's sister's 2 boys as well. It was a fun night being able to visit, and the two boys stayed with Gram and Grandpa (and thus me as well). It was nice being able to reconnect with the boys, but wish I could've spent more time with Ruby. I really miss all of them.

Kai


Beckett


Kai


Jimmy, Kai, Allissa and Beckett


Me, Jimmy, Kai, Allissa and Beckett


Beckett


Here is the picture that Beckett decided he needed to take of me.....
VERY UP CLOSE


Grandpa Thiel (Grandma was running around taking care of stuff like normal)


Beckett


Ruby and her Daddy Mike


Ruby and Mike again


Mom Karen, Ruby and Daddy Mike


Me, Ruby, Karen and Mike

Friday I had a meeting to go to, but after that I met up with my mom Diane. We had breakfast around 9:30 with Lorne, Amy, Bodhi, Taylor and Amy's mom and stepdad (Tina & Ron) because Lorne and his family were going to head back to San Diego. We ate and had a nice meal visiting, then went out in the parking lot and talked for another 20 or so minutes while we took a bunch of pictures.

Speaking of pictures.....

Here's Taylor at Breakfast.


And Bodhi at Breakfast


And Lorne at Breakfast (I didn't have one of Amy at Breakfast because she was sitting right next to me and I was busy talking to her the whole time....)

Here's a bunch of the pics that we took outside the restaurant.

Bodhi and I

(That little sneak gave me bunny ears!!!!)


Lorne and I


Lorne and I again


Lorne


Me, Mom and Lorne


Lorne, Amy, Bodhi, and Taylor


Lorne and Amy


Taylor and I


Amy and I


Lorne
(Taylor took this photo...pretty good, eh?)


Tina, Ron, Bodhi and Taylor


Tina, Amy, Ron, Bodhi and Taylor


Me, Mom, Lorne, Taylor and Bodhi


Me, Mom and Lorne


Bodhi and Taylor


Bodhi and Taylor again

(Bodhi NOT inadvertantly covering Taylor's face this time)


Bodhi and I


Taylor, Me and Bodhi


Bodhi, Grandma Diane and Taylor

After breakfast mom and I did some shopping then went back to her house so she could perm my hair. -Yes, I'm THAT cheap that I waited until I was in Idaho so I could have my mom perm my hair and I only had to spend $10 (my hair is long so I had to buy 2 perms to do all of it).

Here's the cell phone picture of me that I had my mom take so I could send it to Jordan (I wanted him to be the first one to see my new hair).

One thing that was out of the ordinary that happened while I was home, was that after I got to Parma on Sunday, I got to see my younger brother Brandon for about 10 minutes before he went to the ER and was admitted because he had severe abdominal pain, was running a fever and hadn't eaten much in the week prior to my arrival. While in the hospital, they scanned and prodded and poked and questioned Brandon, and finally arrived at the conclusion that Brandon had a pin-sized hole in his intestine/colon that had developed from all of the antibiotics and medicines that he has to take. So, needless to say, Brandon had to have surgery, and was in the hospital the entire time I was in Idaho (except for those first 10 minutes). Brandon was doing SO MUCH better before I got back home, so don't worry about him. (And don't you just love his wife Nykki's new haircut??? -She's so cute!!)

Brandon just chillin' at St. Luke's

The Cute Couple....

Gotta have one with big sis!

And one with mom too!

(And no, mom wasn't mad, I just caught her during a blink)

Dr. Brandon

(Had the mask on so he could walk around without getting some infection)

I feel like I should also mention that while Brandon was in the hospital, and Nykki was still in California working, their sweet little dog Lucky was staying at my parent's house. And, since I obviously love dogs, and I was missing mine terribly, and Lucky's mommy and daddy weren't around, he was my pal the whole time I was there. -I even let him sleep on the bed with me and bought him some toys. He really is a sweet, well behaved, fun-loving dog.

Here's Lucky in the car


Lucky


Lucky again

I flew back to Oklahoma on Monday the 18th (and I'm half retarded, in case you didn't know, so when I was booking my flight back home I didn't pay attention to where the flight left Boise around 6:00 P.M., which then didn't get me flying back into OKC until just after midnight!!!) Anyhoo, I flew out of Boise around 6:00, then into Denver around 8:00 and then on to OKC.

Here's a little bit of Boise as I was flying back to Denver.

These were taken between Boise and Denver, but I'm not exactly sure where we were. Irregardless, we weren't in FLAT ol' Oklahoma yet...

Here's the beginning of a Denver sunset. -For all of you Oklahoman's out there, that's what we like to call a MOUNTAIN that's peeking through the clouds.... he he he.....

And here's the Denver sunset that greeted me as I arrived.

When the plane was about 45-50 minutes outside of Oklahoma City we started getting into some turbulance. When we were about 30 minutes away from landing there was enough turbulance (rain and lightning too) that the pilot turned on the seatbelt sign and made everyone (including the flight attendants) buckle in for the rest of the flight. The girl sitting next to me was kinda freaking out, and was getting a little sick too. She just kept telling me how she felt sick to her stomach cuz she hadn't really eaten anything. I offered her some pretzels (from an earlier flight), but get this....she didn't want to eat any because once she got off the plane she was headed straight for a Braum's! (It's kinda-sorta like a Dairy Queen but with a little store in it for those of you back home...)

Anyhoo, we only got in about 10 minutes late, and my husband was waiting for me there. AND, he brought the babies to see me too (Jack & Jill have been dubbed "the babies" at the house since they're the little guys). All in all, it was nice to come back home to my family, but I sure do miss Idaho!

Sorry it took me so long to post about my Idaho trip (I only typed the message and added pictures in no less than six sittings) so hopefully the gobs of pictures made up for it!!!